The 9th IMPA Journalism Awards Celebrates Winners at FestMat
The awards ceremony for the 9th IMPA Journalism Award took place this Saturday (29) at the National Mathematics Festival in Rio de Janeiro. This year’s edition was historic for the number of women recognized: in all, nine women received awards in the Mathematics and Science Communication categories.
The selected works addressed topics ranging from the mathematical structure of the universe to the origin of life, including infinity, art, rare earth elements, and public health issues. Check out the articleshere.
During the ceremony, the winners participated in a roundtable discussion and shared behind-the-scenes insights into their award-winning reports. Moderated by Marcelo Viana, director-general of IMPA and chair of the judging committee, and Carla Russo, director of Corcovado Comunicação and a member of the jury, the session demonstrated how questions arising from research, reading, or even personal curiosity can be transformed into stories capable of making complex topics accessible to the public.
“We created this award in 2018 with the goal of bringing together two professional groups that need to collaborate: scientists on one side and journalists on the other,” explained Viana. According to him, it is up to scientists to generate knowledge and up to journalists to find the best ways to communicate it to society.
Viana also drew attention to an unprecedented result: the predominance of women among the award winners. “It’s incredible how this has been proven here—that science journalism is a woman’s field. It really broke all records for this period, and we’re especially happy about that. This makes me believe we’re on the right track with this award,” she said.
Mathematics: From the Universe to Infinity
In the Mathematics category, first place went to Catalina Leite, from the newspaper O Povo, for her article “Beyond the Numbers: How Mathematics Constructs the Grammar of the Universe””. The article explores the predictive power of mathematics and shows how equations can anticipate phenomena such as antimatter, gravitational waves, and black holes.
The story stemmed from a personal question the journalist had—she says she struggled with math in school: How could a subject that so often seemed so difficult to her reveal aspects of the universe? A conversation with math and physics teacher Mariana Mendonça helped turn that curiosity into a news story.
“Mathematics isn’t just a number. We tend to think of mathematics as numerical, but mathematics is actually the concept—the way of thinking and structuring that thought,” Catalina explained.
Second place went to Sthephany de Oliveira, from the Jornal da USP, for her article “Are There Infinities in Nature?” “When mathematical abstraction brings us closer to reality.” The story stemmed from a physics research project that raised questions about infinity and led the journalist to also explore the boundaries between reality and description.
For Sthephany, bringing the public closer to science is also a way to encourage participation in society. “I think that giving citizens the tools to see this is also a matter of citizenship.”
Third place went to Paloma Oliveto of the Correio Braziliense, for her article “Mathematics ‘Hidden’ in Art”. The journalist came to the topic through a study that used mathematical tools to analyze patterns in paintings.
“Journalists face the challenge of crafting a text that is also engaging—one that can be read by both experts in the field and those who aren’t [familiar with the topic].”
For Paloma, the challenge of science journalism lies in explaining complex research without compromising accuracy. “It has to be engaging, without being frivolous.”
Science Communication: Science in Different Formats
In the Science Communication category, first place went to Maria Clara Rossini, from Superinteressante, for her article “Life Through the Looking Glass.”
The article begins with a phenomenon known as chirality—the property of a structure that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image—to explore a fundamental question about life: Why do the molecules that make up living organisms show a preference for one of two possible forms?
Maria Clara was already familiar with the concept of “right-handed” and “left-handed” molecules, but it was the connection between this phenomenon and life that sparked her interest.
“I was fascinated because when we synthesize them in the lab, we can produce both types. So why did life ‘choose’ one of these sides to make up everything that exists?”
The question led the journalist to investigate different hypotheses regarding the origin of this asymmetry and the possibility that the search for life beyond Earth might help answer the question.
Her involvement with the story was intense. “I was completely obsessed with this story while I was writing it,” she said.
Her research also led her to explore other issues related to asymmetry in nature and the breaking of symmetry in the universe itself. For the journalist, the award recognizes a field she has chosen to pursue since the beginning of her career.
The recognition, she said, was especially meaningful because it was tied to work she did with curiosity and passion. “I’m especially happy because it was something I did with so much passion, with so much curiosity.”
Second place went to Ed Wanderleyof Agência Pública, for the audio series “The Last Cookie”. Produced as a podcast, the report investigates the relationship between food, obesity, industry, and public health in Brazil, combining investigative journalism and audio storytelling to explore a topic present in everyday life from different perspectives.
“I made sure the project wasn’t about losing weight; I wanted it to be about journalism, service, and science.”
Third place went to Frances Jones and Yuri Pinheiro de Vasconcelos, from the Pesquisa FAPESP, for their article “The Conquest of Rare Earths”. The report follows the efforts of Brazilian researchers, universities, research centers, and companies to master the various stages of rare earth mining and processing—elements that are strategic to a range of technologies and the energy transition.
“The report sought to illustrate Brazil’s stage of development in the production cycle of these elements. The challenge was to put this on paper in a way that a lay audience could understand, and the result was the report we saw,” Yuri explained in a video shown at the ceremony.
Carla Russo commented on the timeliness of the topics covered in the winning reports. “Rare earth elements are a topic that’s dominating the news, but not everyone understands what they are. The same is true for ultra-processed foods and weight-loss pens. These pieces do a great service by explaining such timely and important topics based on science.”
The 9th edition of the IMPA Journalism Award presented honorable mentions in both categories. In Mathematics, to Carolina Nalin (O Globo) and Bruno Romani (O Globo), and in Science Communication to Fernanda Zibordi Paulo (Galileu), Maria Eduarda Soares Toledo and team (Metrópoles), and Vanessa Monteiro da Silva and team (Amazônia Vox).
Viana also praised the presence of Helena Nader, president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and journalist Sabine Righetti—a professor at Labjor-Unicamp and co-founder of Agência Bori—on the judging panel. “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Helena and Sabine for the time they dedicated to the Award and for their contribution to this important process of selecting the winners.”
Established in 2018, the IMPA Journalism Award aims to bring journalists and scientists closer together and recognize work that helps bring mathematics and science to broader audiences. By honoring a variety of media outlets, formats, and styles, the awards celebrate not only the winning entries but also the kind of journalism that helps make science part of everyday conversation.
